Gabriel Sanchez

Gabriel Sanchez (died 1505) the treasurer of Aragon under King Ferdinand II of Aragon and the protector of Christopher Columbus. He became Treasurer following his brother Luys Sanchez's resignation in 1481, and he was the recipient of a 1493 letter from Columbus which documented the results of his voyage.

Biography
Gabriel Sanchez was born in Aragon to a family of Sephardic Jewish converts to Christianity, and he became general treasurer at the court of King Ferdinand II of Aragon on 25 August 1481 after his brother Luys Sanchez retired. He assumed a major role in Christopher Columbus' voyages, funding his travels to the Americas. In 1493, Columbus wrote to Sanchez, whom he misidentified as "Raphael Sanxis", acquainting him with the results of his voyage. He included his contact with the Guanahani Native Americans and related how he named the island "San Salvador" (now Puerto Rico), and he also described how the natives were unarmed and friendly. Columbus claimed that they "bartered like idiots", trading cotton and gold for fragments of Spanish bows, glasses, bottles, and jars. Columbus shared his desire to convert the natives to Christianity, claiming that they were well-disposed towards conversion. He founded the city of Navidad del Senor, building a fortress there, and he described the nearby Natives as not being black (like the Ethiopians) and having straight hair. He then attributed his successes not to his own greatness, but due to the Christian faith, and he ended the letter by praising Jesus; the letter was dated 14 March 1493, written in Lisbon. He went on to die in 1505.